That Dave is one scary dude

Paul of Wrigley Wax recently sent me four cards from the 1971 Topps set off my want list, including one extremely key item. It's the Aqua Velva Man himself.

With the addition of Petey, I'm really down to only Clemente and Mays as the cards that may take some doing in order to complete the set. Of course, there are always some of the high numbers, but those don't worry me too much.

Also, with the addition of four more cards, I now have 695 from the set, which is 92.4 percent complete. That statistic makes me very giddy.

I feel like I should say more about the Rose card, but I've just completed two exhausting, mind-boggling days at work and my ability to think coherently is severely impaired.

But I really should show the other cards. So here they are:

This is a card that Wrigley Wax should know well. I'm wondering if he can tell me what the heck Fergie is wearing under his jersey. It looks like some sort of cut-off warm-up jacket that features an odd-looking, tie-dye pattern. Groovy.

I once had this card. I have no idea what happened to it.

Here is a high-numbered card. It features '69 Miracle Met hero Ron Swoboda airbrushed into an Expos cap. You can see he's still wearing a pinstriped Mets jersey. Swoboda was traded to the Expos on March 31, 1971. Normally, that would mean he would appear in the 1971 set as a Met. But that was the beauty of issuing card sets in series. This card came out in the 6th and final series, which probably didn't hit stores until August or September, plenty of time to get the airbrushing machine warmed up.

Ah, here is Rose's former teammate, Dave Concepcion. This is Concepcion's rookie card. I love how his name on the back creeps under his armpit.

Oh, and I know what you're thinking. You've seen this card before. And you're a bit unsettled by that thought aren't you?

Because THIS is the card you're thinking about:

Ahhhhhhh!!!!! Good gosh that card still freaks me out. I didn't realize that this demon painting was based on Concepcion's 1971 card until the '71 card arrived in the mail. Upper Deck sure did a great job capturing the likeness didn't they? Well, a great job, that is, if you wanted a likeness of Concepcion with his soul removed.

But then I turned over the 1971 card and I thought Goudey might be on to something.

EEEEKK!!!! Concepcion is a disembodied head! I knew it! He's inhuman! He's a soul-sucking demon!  Goudey tried to warn us! We wouldn't listen! We're doomed!

See? Look closer!

Is that blood dripping from his mouth? Oh, this is just too creepy. I always knew there was something rotten about that Big Red Machine.

Actually, the red is just a random mark on the card. Or perhaps Paul tried to turn Concepcion into Dracula when he was a kid.

If I may stop being silly for a moment, I greatly appreciate the cards. I still can't believe I'm so close to completing this set so quickly. Yet another thanks to everyone who has contributed to this set so far.

Now I've got to shake some images out of my head before I go to sleep.